Introduction to Public History

Introduction to Public History: Interpreting the Past, Engaging Audiences is intended primarily for undergraduate audiences. It is crisply written, and the co-authors—Cherstin Lyon, Elizabeth Nix, and Rebecca Shrum—zero in on the ‘big questions that underpin the how and . . . why of public history’ (1). At the outset they tackle the ever-present question of what distinguishes public history from academic history, and they do so succinctly by identifying three key elements: audience, collaboration, and reflective practice (2–3). They also provide a clear explanation of what unites academic and public history: historical thinking, historical methods, and heuristics. The authors skillfully navigate readers through some of the key scholarly works that have influenced public history as an academic discipline.... Although undergraduates may be the primary audience, the introductory chapter is one that all of us could benefit from reading. * The Public Historian *
This book provides an innovative look at the practice of public history for students beginning to explore opportunities in the field. Rather than simply present careers, the authors focus on the key theories and principles of public history from collecting to interpretation to engaging an audience, along with a variety of case studies and teaching resources. Introduction to Public History will quickly become an essential book for undergraduate and some graduate courses, but it will also be valuable for interns and new practitioners. -- Ann McCleary, coordinator, Public History and Museum Studies Programs, University of West Georgia
Like the best work in the field itself, this book is accessible and engaging, laced with new and familiar narratives, attuned to past injustices and their present-day reverberations, and deeply committed to the task of combining rigorous historical analysis with the creation of space for considering multiple, sometimes competing understandings of the past. There is plenty here about “how,” but always in dialogue with the crucial questions of “why.” -- Cathy Stanton, Department of Anthropology, Tufts University and author of “The Lowell Experiment: Public History in a Postindustrial City”